Lawyers: ‘Embrace Catholic Identity’

MADISON ﻿﻿Society has become increasingly “unmoored from God’s truth” with its widespread support of issues such as abortion, “gay marriage” and the “right” of people to identify with the gender of their choosing. So more than ever, Catholic lawyers — along with the rest of the faithful — need to stay connected to that Divine Truth and proclaim it not only in their personal lives, but also in their professional lives as officers of the court.

Sounding that alarm to local Catholic lawyers and judges was Mary Rice Hasson, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Catholic Studies Program in Washington, D.C. Also an attorney, she spoke Nov. 16 at St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization here to a gathering of members of the Advocati Christi Outreach to Catholic Lawyers — a diocesan fellowship of lawyers and judges, who are committed to the legal profession and profession of their faith, which started eight years ago.

“More than ever, we need to identify as Catholics, embrace our identify and join together as Catholics. Faith needs to be our vitality. Now is the time for us to evangelize and go make a difference,” said Hasson, who also directs the Catholic Women’s Forum, an initiative that responds to Pope Francis’s call for Catholic women to assume a higher profile within the Church and think with the Church in addressing the problems of today. “But first, we must have a relationship with Jesus and with the truth,” she told the lawyers.

Hasson’s presentation kicked off Advocati Christi’s ongoing series of four talks by notable legal and religious minds. It will continue next year with Prof. Robert George, the McCormick Chair in Jurisprudence at Princeton University; Samuel Alito Jr., an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; and Father Paul Scalia, delegate for clergy in the Diocese of Arlington, Va., and son of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Hasson focused her presentation on the lawyers and judges with a broader message that calls all faithful to maintain their Catholic identity. Over the past 30 years, Catholics have assimilated into the culture but have failed to embrace their Catholic identity, said Hasson, editor of “Promise and Challenge: Catholic Women Reflect on Feminism, Complementarity, and the Church.”

“We need to embrace who we are as Catholics — to think that our faith is so great that we want to share it with others. You have to speak God’s truth, because there are so many untruths against humanity out there,” said Hasson, who noted that the Church supports positions that defend respect for life, the traditional family and a biological understanding of manhood and womanhood — unpopular stances that might get vocal Catholics branded as “bigots” in modern society. “Pope Francis said the we should walk with people toward the light, show them the truth and give them the confidence [to believe]. The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say,” she said.

Catholics need to maintain a “relationship with God and the truth” that he has handed down to us through the Church. The faithful should seek that understanding by asking the Lord in prayer and through the Sacraments. St. John Paul II urged people — even those who have doubts — to “engage the truth” by seeking the insights of those in authority, all while never dismissing the truth, Hasson said.

“God loves us enough to give us the truth. The Church is the guardian of that truth. We have to have certainty in that truth. We need to guard it and give it to others,” said Hasson, who also advised the lawyers, “It’s important to know when to speak and when not to speak.”

Hasson also spoke about Catholic principles in relation to the N.J. Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers. “It’s not about maximizing your [billable] hours or fees. It’s not about putting yourself first. It’s not enough to do as little as possible to limit your responsibility and liability. It’s not enough just to follow the law,” said Hasson, who, along with her husband, Kevin J. “Seamus” Hasson, are the parents of seven children. Hasson, who received the 2015 St. John Paul II Award for the New Evangelization from the Catholic Information Center, said, “You must change your thinking — to care for the ‘other’ in society. Jesus is saying, ‘I want you to know what you are feeling about the people you a serving.’ It’s for the common good. That responsibility comes from Catholicism,” she said.

After Hasson’s presentation, participating lawyers gathered for dinner and roundtable discussion on the main floor of St. Paul’s. One of the founding members of Advocati Christi, Mark Scirocco, said that her talk “did so much good,” because lawyers should bring up these issues in their profession. Other founding members of the group were present that evening, including Denise Wennogle, Patricia O’Dowd and Richard Maggi.

“I was struck by how important it is for us to be diligent in our knowledge of the faith and act with confidence in the faith,” said Father Paul Manning, diocesan vicar for evangelization and St. Paul’s executive director, during a short question-and-answer period after her talk. The priest then told the speaker, “I appreciate your presence for our inaugural presentation.”